Back to the Grind
Hello everyone. Sorry I have not been true to the blog. Sharon complained the other day that my blog missed me. I think that was her way of saying, I need to go to sleep, put whatever you have to say in the blog and I'll read it tomorrow.
We had a great two weeks in America. I was so happy to be home that I didn't once get impatient with traffic, the weather, or anything. I went the whole two weeks without a moment of frustration! Compared to Iraq, home is heaven. You just can't imagine the difference.
But now I'm back and we have more work than I can figure out how to get done. But there's good news....I now have a skeleton staff of Iraqi Officers, including one colonel (commandant), one lieutenant colonel, a major, captain, two lieutenants and twenty four soldiers. The colonel and I have already become close friends. He is a very reserved, distinguished officer, devout husband and father of four (like me). He is a "Special Forces" officer and has spent the last 18 months or so working with our green berets in Baghdad. He has a great heart. To protect his identity, I'll refer to him as "the Commandant".
Iraqi soldiers only get to go home once a month because it is very dangerous for them and their families to be seen coming and going too often. The Commandant's family lives in a village that is constantly under threat from foreign terrorist or local criminals on the Iranian payroll. We have been praying for the safety of his family over the past week because there were some military operations taking place in and around his village and he had not had any contact with his them for more than six days. I'm happy to report that he was able to get a message from them (through a third party) yesterday. You just can't imagine what it is like for Iraqis.
When I returned from leave, I had tons of mail and boxes of goodies from many folks back home, some I don't even know. I will try to thank everyone individually but if I miss someone, please know that I am greatful. Thank you for all your prayers and good deeds towards me.
Here are some pictures from my leave:
In my chair with everybody but Leah
(where were you Chickie?)
With my favorite brother and sister:
The guys doing what guys do best (NOTHING):
Me and Leah at the airport:
And with my best friend, savoring the last few minutes together.
She's so beautiful but my heart was breaking.
Hello everyone. Sorry I have not been true to the blog. Sharon complained the other day that my blog missed me. I think that was her way of saying, I need to go to sleep, put whatever you have to say in the blog and I'll read it tomorrow.
We had a great two weeks in America. I was so happy to be home that I didn't once get impatient with traffic, the weather, or anything. I went the whole two weeks without a moment of frustration! Compared to Iraq, home is heaven. You just can't imagine the difference.
But now I'm back and we have more work than I can figure out how to get done. But there's good news....I now have a skeleton staff of Iraqi Officers, including one colonel (commandant), one lieutenant colonel, a major, captain, two lieutenants and twenty four soldiers. The colonel and I have already become close friends. He is a very reserved, distinguished officer, devout husband and father of four (like me). He is a "Special Forces" officer and has spent the last 18 months or so working with our green berets in Baghdad. He has a great heart. To protect his identity, I'll refer to him as "the Commandant".
Iraqi soldiers only get to go home once a month because it is very dangerous for them and their families to be seen coming and going too often. The Commandant's family lives in a village that is constantly under threat from foreign terrorist or local criminals on the Iranian payroll. We have been praying for the safety of his family over the past week because there were some military operations taking place in and around his village and he had not had any contact with his them for more than six days. I'm happy to report that he was able to get a message from them (through a third party) yesterday. You just can't imagine what it is like for Iraqis.
When I returned from leave, I had tons of mail and boxes of goodies from many folks back home, some I don't even know. I will try to thank everyone individually but if I miss someone, please know that I am greatful. Thank you for all your prayers and good deeds towards me.
Here are some pictures from my leave:
In my chair with everybody but Leah
(where were you Chickie?)
With my favorite brother and sister:
The guys doing what guys do best (NOTHING):
Me and Leah at the airport:
And with my best friend, savoring the last few minutes together.
She's so beautiful but my heart was breaking.
posted by AWE, COL, USA | 11:50 PM
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